Wide Awake Conference - Chicago

Chicago, IL

April 9th, 2010 6:00 pm — April 10th, 2010 6:00 pm

Download Conference Brochure to see the full schedule!

Young Adults Coming Together to Wake Up to Life

Registration

Online registration has closed. Please join as at the conference tomorrow night. Registration/check-in begins at 6:00PM. Walk-ins are welcome!

Where:

CTU Academic and Conference Center
5416 S. Cornell Ave.
Chicago, IL 60615

Conference Price:

Students: $15 per person
Ministry staff and/or young adults: $30 per person

Many of the future leaders of American Catholicism are young adults today who have yet to experience a life-changing encounter with Christ through the Church (Deus Caritas Est 1). We will seek to bridge the gap young adults often experience between contemporary culture and the Catholic faith in this new “Wide Awake” conference we are launching. We will focus on conversion to Jesus and the initiatory catechesis needed in order to ground these young adults in the life of faith. We hope that they will bring renewed life to the campus ministries and dioceses to which they return.

The conference will include large group sessions of powerful music, young adult personal stories of faith, and compelling applications of the Gospel to life. Workshops will guide young adults in specific aspects and disciplines of Christian faith.

Great Presenters!

The Evangelical Catholic welcomes a prestigious line-up of presenters for Wide Awake Chicago.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS – John L. Allen, Jr.

Workshops will include:

VOCATION (WOMEN)– Sr. Charlene Diorka, S.S.J., Associate Director of National Religious Vocations Conference
“The glory of God is a human being fully alive,” said St. Irenaeus. “Fully alive” means becoming what God created us to be. How does one discover that? How do we discern our life paths? What helps and what hinders that discernment? Listening for the voice of vocation is to listen to one’s life. Vocation comes does not come from willfulness, no matter how noble one’s intentions. It comes from listening to and accepting one’s “true self” with its limits as well as its potentials. As one lives more deeply into the selfhood that is the birthright gift, one finds not only personal fulfillment, one finds communion with others and ways of serving the world’s deepest needs. Come and listen for the voice of vocation.

VOCATION (MEN) – Seminarians from CTU (orders represented: Society of the Divine Word, Maryknoll Missionaries, Dominicans)
Men: “His Mission is our Mission.” We know that we are to imitate Jesus—to do His will in our lives. But how do we know what that is? How do we know what God is calling us to do in our lives? Join a panel of young seminarians and Brothers in vows as they share their discernment stories. They will share what worked for them—how they figured out what God was inviting them to do with their lives? Could their journeys be similar to yours?

ANGELS AND DEMONS: FACT AND FICTION – Faye Darnall, The Evangelical Catholic
Christians understand the supernatural world very differently than popular culture. Can any truth be found in entertainment versions? What attitude towards the supernatural enriches the spiritual life of a disciple of Christ? Can an unexamined immersion in the popular presentation damage our spiritual lives?

SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS: EXPLORING THE ISSUES – John Donahue-Grossman, Outside da Box Media Ministry
Heard the message “just don’t do it” but it just doesn’t make sense? Tired of a list of rules from the Catholic Church? Interested in getting more from your dating life, but just not sure how? Come hear a modern, up-to-date message on relationships. Want to ask questions and get “real world” answers? Questions can be submitted anonymously in writing during the workshop, followed up by a frank and honest discussion on this most challenging issue. Let this workshop conversation provide the incentive and means to live in a way that leads to true love and life in the fullest.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST IN THE SACRAMENTS: ESCAPE THE SUPERFICIAL LIFE — Professor David Fagerberg, University of Notre Dame
Everyone wants authenticity, something real, beyond the shallow stuff that can so easily dominate and deaden our daily lives. Sacraments by their very nature provide doors into the sacred depth we crave. They invite us to move beyond what can be seen into the all-pervasive presence of God. We know that what is experienced by the senses or emotions does not necessarily guarantee authenticity. How many false conversations have we had even though we can hear them? Though not experienced by the senses and only occasionally registering through emotions, the profound authenticity manifest in sacrament is key to depth with all human experience. We reach this authentic reality through faith, which takes us where our senses can never reach, to a reality that has to be believed to be seen.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST IN PRAYER: How Do I Do It? — Scott Hackl, Director of Development, St. Paul’s University Catholic Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Lots of us feel we want “something more” out of life, but we’re not at all sure what it might be or how we might discover it. Christianity claims that encountering the person of Christ changes everything, but how do we encounter him? What do we say to him? He doesn’t seem to answer prayers in the way we expect or want, so what is the point of talking to him? What does encountering Christ even mean? Come be inspired to seek the one who seeks you, and learn ways to do it.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST IN SCRIPTURE: Why and How – Professor Joanne Kuttner, Lewis University
What role does reading/praying scripture have in a Christians’ life? Why pray in this way? And how do we pray this way rather than just read? You can meet Christ in a way that is absolutely unique and essential through scripture prayer. How can we listen to Christ and follow if we don’t know what he said or what his early followers said about following? In this workshop you will experience a variety of ways to encounter Christ by praying with Scriptures, both New and Old Testament. We will weave together prayerful experiences with Scripture and interactive connection with one another. Hopefully, each participant will leave equipped to live in deeper relationship with Christ.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST IGNATIAN STYLE – Fr. Brian Daley, S.J.,University of Notre Dame
One of the greatest teachers on prayer and practically applicable contemplation Christianity has ever known, St. Ignatius of Loyola taught very specific ways that we can encounter Christ in Scripture, especially in his Spiritual Exercises. The goal of that program for prayer and sustained reflection on our lives is to move into a deeper relationship with Jesus: to see ourselves as God sees us, and to let ourselves be identified more deeply, as loved and called sinners, with Jesus’ desire to transform the world into his Kingdom. “Ignatian prayer” is based on a highly personal engagement with the Gospel, as our main way of being involved in Jesus’ way, and includes the regular contemplation of God’s presence in our everyday life (the Examen), “considerations” of our individual histories, imaginative engagement with key Gospel scenes, and systematically constructed meditations on the humility and self-emptying that are the key – for Jesus and for each of us – to sharing God’s love for the world.

SEIZE THE DAY: SERVICE AND THE AWAKENED – Bill Johnson, director of service at Marmion Academy in Aurora, IL
Learn how one small word…service…can make a big difference for everyone, especially for you. Develop ideas on how to come alive to your talents, gifts, and to your faith. You will find ways to see Christ in others. By giving away your talents you will ultimately receive the love of God in return. A passionate, high energy, interactive workshop that will change your life!

CAN WE LIVE CATHOLIC VALUES WITHOUT BEING NUTTY FANATICS? YES!!!!! – Bill Johnson, director of service at Marmion Academy in Aurora, IL
Come learn concrete ways to walk the walk and not just talk the talk…. We’ll look at ways we can give Jesus, share Jesus, and be like Jesus in our daily lives. This workshop emphasizes practical ways and challenges to come alive to, and stay alive to, our faith.

WHAT’S GOING ON AT MASS? — Fr. Brian Daley, S.J., University of Notre Dame
Why is it so often so difficult to stay focused during Mass? Ask a European watching American football, or an American baseball fanatic at a cricket match, how engaging they find these incomprehensible sporting events. Discovering what’s really going on at Mass can open our eyes to its beauty and drama.

IMPLEMENTING AND ESTABLISHING EVANGELISTIC MINISTRIES – Jason Simon and Faye Darnall, The Evangelical Catholic
What do you need to know to help people wake up on your campus, at your ministry, in your diocese? At these two conference you will learn how to conceptualize evangelistic ministry (Friday), and how to implement the vision (Sat. a.m.) This will include review of specific ministry situations and consideration of which modalities might best serve to address a variety of needs. Each ministry should leave with a plan of how to launch and implement.